


Miles to go Before I Sleep

by TheLannisterBastard



Category: Helix
Genre: F/M, Gen, Rating for later chapters, Warnings May Change, post season 1 canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-25
Updated: 2015-01-25
Packaged: 2018-03-08 23:59:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3228413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLannisterBastard/pseuds/TheLannisterBastard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sergio and Anana go on a road trip around the world to find the missing kids while dodging Ilaria. Murder and belligerent sexual tension ensue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Miles to go Before I Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> This is a thing that has been sitting in my head since season one ended. There will be lots of Sergio backstory that will probably be disproved in season two. 
> 
> This is going to be LONG, like novel length, and I can't really guarantee any regular updating schedule but stick around, it will be worth it.

"Never thought I would be so grateful to see the middle of nowhere Canada," Sergio said as their little band of survivors arrived at the edge of the small town.

Anana cracked a smile, easily the first one she’d had more than a couple of days. "Maybe someone here will be able to fix your hair," she said, laughing as his hand instinctively flew up to touch the singed areas. "Maybe draw on some eyebrows for you as well." 

Not that she was really one to talk. For Anana her hair had suffered the worst of the explosion. About three inches of it had been crisped off and her hands still had a number of blisters and her ears were still ringing a little, but other than that she was okay. Most people weren't as lucky as her. Sergio had gotten shrapnel lodged in his shoulder that she had pulled out and stitched up for him. Tulok was still woozy from the severe concussion he'd gotten and pretty much everyone that had made it out had burns on their hands and faces. Of course not everyone had gotten out. Most of the people at the base had been trapped on lower levels. Some others had died from their burns not long after the blast. They hadn't been able to do anything about those bodies.  _Or Miksa's._  Her brother, her baby brother that she had just gotten back, was dead and they didn't even have the option to give him a proper funeral. But no, she was not going to dwell on that, not now. 

There were eighteen people in their little band including her. They had been attempting to find the rest of her people, but too many people were injured and needed more help than they could get out on the ice. Which was why they were now in the little town following the signs to a clinic. Once they found the little clinic those more in need of attention were whisked off, including Tulok, leaving her, Sergio, and a couple of the scientists alone in the tiny waiting room. 

One of the scientists, whose name she thought was Morgan or Jordan or something like that, had been pretty badly burned when they had first left the base but after only two or three days had seemed to be perfectly okay. She was sitting apart from the other one, Alan, twiddling her thumbs and looking anywhere but at the man two seats away from her. 

On Anana's left Sergio was leaned back in his chair, his head resting lightly against the wall. His eyes were closed but she could tell that he wasn't asleep, he was too tense for that. She'd always thought it was stupid how they said that people looked peaceful while sleeping, but then she had met Sergio. As tough as the man was he looked at least half a decade younger when he slept and right now he was wound tighter than a spring. It was clear that he didn't want to talk so she focused on the soft steady ticking of the clock instead.

The door leading to the exam rooms opened suddenly, startling both of them. 

"How is everyone?" she asked before the nurse got a chance to speak. "How is my brother?"

The kind looking old nurse glanced down at her clipboard. "Everyone is getting patched up. There are a couple of folks that we are sending off to the hospital to get better treatment but everyone will be alright given enough time."

"And my brother," she asked, more insistently this time, "is he one of the ones going to the hospital?" She wasn't about to let him more than fifty feet from her at this point, not after everything that had happened with Miksa. 

"Which one is he dearie?"

"Tulok Ashoona. He had a concussion and burns, no broken bones or anything."

"Let me see here," she said flipping a couple of pages on her clipboard, "it does look like your brother is being transferred. He was okay but we want to make sure there isn't any damage to his brain, just to be safe."

"I can go with him though, right?" If there was anything wrong with Tulok she was determined to be the first one to know. 

"You're welcome to drive over there on your own, but you can't go with him on the plane, there isn't enough room."

She opened her mouth to begin to argue but before she could get more than a couple of words out she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Oh no don't you try to stop me from leaving," she said rounding on Sergio. "I realize you might not understand this, but people who care about each other don't just leave."

"I  _know_. I wasn't suggesting you stay here, which you would have known if you would have actually let me get the words out." She could tell he was trying hard to keep his voice level. "I'm sure we can find a car, we can drive to wherever it is they are taking your brother." 

"He's right dear. You have a long drive ahead of you but if you left in an hour or so you would probably get there when they are done running tests on your brother."

She glanced between the nurse and Sergio, her eyes narrowed. "Fine, but we leave now, not in a few hours."

“If we leave now we will get there too early. We’ll be stuck in town with nothing to do and, I don’t know about you, but I hate sitting in hospitals doing absolutely nothing.”

“We leave now.” She was not going to compromise on this damnit. She’d already lost one of her brothers and wasn’t about to be away from the other for any extended length of time, at least not right now.

Sergio searched her face, surely looking for anything to make her back down, but he wasn’t going to find anything. He met her eyes for only a second before shrugging.

“Alright, we can leave now.” He turned to the nurse. “So where can we rent a car around here?”  

“Well we don’ have any fancy place for it but someone is always trying to sell one. I’m sure if you drive around you’ll find someone.”

“Thank you.” He turned to her. “I’m going to go get a car, you stay here and talk to your brother if you need to or do whatever. Once I get the car we can head out.”

“You just don’t want to steal a car in front of me.”

“I’m not going to steal a car.”

She raised an eyebrow at him, not believing it for a second. “At least _try_ to find one that you don’t have to steal and if you do have to steal something at least leave the people money.”

He didn’t say anything but let out a small chuckle as he turned towards the door.

It took him twenty minutes to find a car and by the time he got back she was more than ready to go. From the keys in his hand it appeared that the car had been legally obtained. Either that or he had lifted the keys off of some unsuspecting person.

“It’s a four hour drive to the hospital,” he told her as she climbed in. “There’s a gas station around the half way mark where we can stop and get food if we need it.”

“Well get driving then. If there is even a halfway decent amount of ice on the road it’ll be an even longer trip.”

Once they were out of the town proper there was nothing to see but snow and trees and of course icy dirt roads. It soon became clear that Sergio did not know how to drive on icy roads, let alone icy dirt roads. After a particularly nasty turn that he barely made she finally spoke up, "Pull over."

"Why?"

She rolled her eyes. "Because if you don't get out and let me drive we aren't going to make it another thirty miles. And because if you don't I'll clock you over the head and take over driving anyway."

"I know how to drive, Anana," he said even as he pulled off onto the shoulder.

"I'm sure you do, just not on icy roads. You're too aggressive and you go too fast."

"Oh come on you have been the one in such a hurry. It's not like I can hurry and not go fast."

She couldn't help herself, she laughed. "You are  _such_  an idiot. If we go too fast and crash we will be even later than we already are going to be. You have to walk that fine line between being fast and stupid. You’re just being stupid.”

“I resent that you know,” he said as they passed in front of the car. “It’s not my fault I’ve never had to drive on ice before.”

“All the more reason for me to be driving. You were going to get us killed before we got halfway there.”

She thought she heard him mutter something under his breath but she didn’t catch what.

The next hour followed in silence. It wasn’t a tense silence, but it wasn’t easy and relaxed either. She was keyed up, nervous for her brother even though the nurses at the clinic had assured her a number of times that he was going to be perfectly okay. Every now and then she would glance out of the corner of her eye as she waited for him to move, waited for him to speak, to do something. But it seemed he was waiting for her to do the same thing and she would be damned if she was going to let him win.

Keeping quiet gave her mind time to wander. How the hell had things gone so horribly in the past month? A month ago she had spent nearly every day either hunched over her desk or on the phone trying to track down a missing kid. She’d failed in that search just like she had for the past five kids before that. Once Ilaria had gotten ahold of the kids there hadn’t been anything she could have done. But she was going to be able to do things now.

He’d given the list to Tulok when they had met outside the base and somehow it had stayed intact despite the explosion. That night when she had seen what was on the paper she had known exactly what she was going to do. There were 31 stolen kids on the list, and 27 of them could still be alive. She was going to find them no matter how long it took, no matter how many years had passed since they had been taken. The second she had seen the names she had made her decision.

Of course some of the kids on the list were already beyond help. There had been four names whose location had been Arctic Biosystems and not a single one had gotten out with their lives. She wasn’t going to think about that now, though, not when her other brother was on his way to the hospital. So instead she said the first thing that popped into her mind.

"So why did you do it?" she asked breaking the silence. 

Sergio looked at her blankly. "Do what?"

"Left without saying a word." She saw his squirm out of the corner of her eye. "There's nowhere for you to go, Sergio, you might as well talk about it now."

He sighed and ran a hand through his patchy hair. "You know why I left. I had to get back to the base so I could clean up the mess I made."

“That’s bullshit and we both know it. What did Tulok say to you?”

“Nothing.”

She gave him a skeptical look. “I know you talked to him I just want to know why you actually listened"

"Because he was right. People around me, people I care about, have a tendency to get hurt. I don't want that to happen to you or anyone else for that matter."

If she could have reached she would have hit him. "I'm a big girl, Sergio. I can make my own decisions. Decisions like putting myself in danger if it's for the people I care about. You don't get to just leave because you have decided that's what is best for everyone."

She could see the muscles in his jaw clenching and unclenching. Finally he gave a brisk nod, not saying a word. It was probably as she was going to get to an apology so she left it at that. 

The drive was proving to be a long one and after an hour and a half of driving they passed a sign saying the city they were heading to was another hundred miles away and with the pace they were going...

"We aren't going to make it there any time soon are we?" Sergio asked.

Anana went over the math in her head. "It's going to be at least four more hours and that's assuming we can get to some paved road at some point."

"Wonderful," he groaned, slumping against the car window. After only a few more minutes she noticed him nodding off.  She let him sleep. It was easier to think without the tense silence anyway. And there was a lot to think about.

Her home was gone and her people were scattered. Her brother was dead. She still could not wrap her head around the fact that Miksa was dead so soon after getting him back. They had assumed he was dead after he had gone missing, but knowing he was dead as just assuming he was were two different things. Before she had been able to hope and that just wasn’t an option anymore. _Focus on the positive here Anana._ She thought to herself. _Tulok is still alive and happy if not in the best condition at the moment. Things will work out, things will be fine. You lost Miksa once, you can do it again._ She kept that up until she finally had to pull over to get gas half an hour later.

While the tank filled up she went inside grabbing some chips and a pair of coffees. Sergio was awake when she got back to the car, his face wrinkled into an unpleasant expression.

“What is _that_?” he asked when she presented him with his cup.

“Coffee. I figured we could use some with how long we’ve been awake. It isn’t the greatest but it has caffeine in it.”

If his eyebrows wouldn’t have been crisped off he would have been raising one. “No, I grew up in Brazil, I know coffee. That is not coffee,” he nodded to the cup. “And there is no way in hell that I am drinking that.”

“Suit yourself,” she said with a shrug. “It should be another couple of hours before we get there. If you need anything you should probably go get it now.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Fine but I’m not stopping until we get there.”

“I said I’ll be fine, Anana,” he snapped angrily. He seemed to realize his mistake as soon as the words left his mouth. “Sorry. It’s just been a long few weeks. Between the vectors on the base, Ilaria, not to mention the shit storm that has been the past week … to say I’m worn out would be an understatement. I’m ready to find a hotel room and not move for a week.”

“I’m with you on that. Although after a few days I am going to start going after the kids on that list you gave me.”

“You can’t do that, not yet at least. Ilaria is going to start hunting you down the second they learn that people at the base survived. Anana they’re going to kill you. You can’t go running around the world trying to find some kids that might not even want to come with you. Not to mention some of the adults who probably work for Ilaria at this point who will be more than willing to see you dead.”

“They deserve to know where they came from, Sergio. Their families deserve to know if they are still alive or not. You didn’t give me the list for no reason.”

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I did give you the list so you could find the people on it, but not now. You need to plan the trip first, the kids are all over the world, you aren’t going to find them on some weekend trip. You’ll need backup too, someone who knows Ilaria or at the very least how to avoid them.”

“Someone like you?” she asked in an even tone.

Sergio shrugged. “Yeah, someone like me.”

“So are you volunteering?”

He was quiet for a moment as he considered it. “Only if you want me to. If you don’t I could find someone else to help you.”

“No, I think I would rather have it be you,” she sighed.

He smiled. “Well alright then.”

After that the rest of the ride flew by. Occasionally she would ask him a question but for the most part the last leg of the trip passed in a comfortable silence.

The hospital was in the heart of the small city, painted a light blue and only three stories high. The sun was setting and there were only a handful of cars in the parking lot.

Inside a bored looking man sat behind the front desk with his nose buried in a book. He only looked up when they were standing directly in front of his desk. “Can I help you?”

“Yes, my brother should have arrived here a few hours ago. He was having some tests done but he should be done by now.”

“Name?”

“Tulok Ashoona.”

He typed in a few things on the keyboard. “He’s in the middle of a CT scan now. If you want to wait for him you can head down that hallway and there will be a seating area off to the right. I’ll note that a nurse should come get you when they’re done.”

“How much longer is it going to take?”

“There is no way to know for certain. If I had to guess I would say somewhere around half an hour.”

“Alright thanks.”

The waiting room was deserted except for a pair of teenagers passed out in the corner. There was a TV on the far wall showing a news report on the outbreak of Narvik. Sergio had told her about it, about the outbreak and the disease, but seeing it on TV was another thing entirely. Puerto Rico was in chaos, people dying left and right and the entire government thrown into chaos. She didn’t want to think what would happen if the virus got out to the rest of the world.

After twenty minutes she was restless, after forty she was scared. It was like the clinic all over again. Could something have gone wrong? What if they had found that the concussions were worse than had been anticipated? Could there be permanent brain damage?

The warm weight of Sergio’s hand over hers was unexpected but not unwelcome. It was almost easy to flip her hand over and lace her fingers with his. She could feel her face burning a little even as she angled herself away from him. The steady pressure on her hand helped her relax some. It made her feel like she wasn’t being blown away into events beyond her control.

A nurse in light blue scrubs opened the door to the room, jolting the two of them out of their silent companionship. “Are the relatives of,” she squinted at the name on the sheet, “Mr. Ashoona here?”

“That’s me,” she said her heart beating wildly in her chest. For the millionth time she thought that surely something had gone wrong. “Is everything okay with Tulok?”

“He’s going to be perfectly fine but they want to keep him overnight for observation just in case. The concussion he had was pretty severe. They are getting his burns re-bandaged now. If you want I can take you back to him.”

“That would be great.” It was as good of news as she could have hoped for

“Sir will you be coming too?” the nurse asked Sergio.

“No, that’s fine. I’ll go get us a hotel room for the night and come back to get you in say an hour?”

“Okay, but one hour, got it? No running off this time.”

“One hour.”

After he vanished around the corner the nurse led her to the room where they were keeping her brother. He had some bandages around his head but other than that he looked fine. At the moment he was sitting up with a bored expression on his face as he flipped through channels.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Like hell.”

“Well we did almost get blown up,” she said as she sat down at the edge of his bed.

“Yeah and you got out unscathed, as always.”

“Well Sergio took most of the blast that should have hit me.”

Tulok rolled his eyes and scoffed. “So why didn’t mister black ops have to get flown out to the hospital?”

Anana glared at her brother. “He has a name, Tulok. And his injuries weren’t that bad, not like yours and the others’.”

“You had to pull a chunk of glass out of him.”

“Yeah and I had to stitch him up too, but that’s already healing, not much more for doctors to do. Not to mention we need to get out of here as soon as possible since Ilaria is probably going to try to kill us again. And there are the kids on the list that I need to find.”

“So what you’re just going to up and leave?”

“I need to go find those kids, Tulok. Too many of those kids went missing under my watch, now that there’s a real chance I have to try to get them back or talk to them or something. Their families deserve something just like we did.”

“You think I don’t get that? Anana I want to see those kids back with their parents as much as you do, I just don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go with _him_.”

“Why the hell not?” she half shouted. “Is it because you’re trying to be the disapproving brother because that’s bullshit. He’s got more experience with Ilaria than anyone else, he knows where the best place to look for the kids if the addresses aren’t enough. He has connections and can get us around the world without attracting attention. Going with him is the best option.”

“I’m not denying any of that, but Ilaria is looking for him, probably trying to kill him if the way he has been acting has been anything to go by. I don’t want to see you get killed in some far off country because of his baggage.”

“Ilaria is probably going to be looking for me anyway, might as well do some good instead of cowering in a corner.”

He frowned. “I still don’t like it.”

“Well I guess it’s a good thing you don’t have to like it,” she laughed. “All you have to do is stay here and help coordinate with the parents when we find the kids. And of course maybe fly out and come get them if they won’t go on their own.”

There was a quick knock on the door before Sergio was sticking his head in.

“Got the hotel room whenever you want to crash for the day,” he said. “I can come back if you want or—”

“Just give me another minute or two and we can head out, god knows I could do with a nap.”

“Sounds good. I’ll, uh, wait in the lobby then.”

“Sure you’re prepared to travel around the world with that asshole?”

She hit him on the arm. “I’ll be fine and I’ll be sure to keep you updated when I can.”

Tulok engulfed her in a bear hug. “Just be careful, I can’t lose you too Anana.”

“I will, I promise. You take care of yourself too. You might be built like a brick wall but you aren’t indestructible.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, now go and get some sleep. I’ll let you know when they let me out of here.”

“Alright. Goodnight, Tulok.”

“Goodnight, Anana.”

Out in the lobby Sergio was leaning against the wall frowning at the TV. It was on a different station than earlier, but it was showing the same information about the outbreak. She could tell by the set of his jaw that he was concerned or maybe angry. Knowing him it was probably anger.

“Ready to go?” she asked.

“More than. I can barely imagine what sleeping in an actual bed is like anymore. Come to think of it I don’t think I’ve had a full night’s sleep since I left Atlanta.”

“Well we can sleep tonight. I doubt we’re going to get much of it on this trip to find the kids.”

“I don’t know about that,” he shrugged, “jet lag is pretty good at exhausting you to the point of collapse.”

Their hotel room was a cheap one but it had two beds and was relatively clean but she only half noticed. The second she climbed into the bed she could feel her eyes drooping and before she could even grab a pillow she was asleep.


End file.
